I wanted a resort that had already been put through the wringer and survived. In this climate, you never know who's going to default on the hot-water bill or skimp on the fruit juices at the breakfast buffet.
Japan has hundreds of resorts that have only barely recovered from economic Armageddon, but few have had a roller-coaster ride quite like the Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki Prefecture.
The massive facility, taking up a 10-km-long swath of beautifully forested Kyushu coastline, opened in 1993 at a cost of ¥200 billion. It wasn't long before it turned into what you might call the quintessential Bubble Period Ball Breaker.